Jennifer Rayner | Fuel efficiency standards would get more EVs on Australian roads

The cheapest EV currently on the Australian market costs almost $50,000. That can seem a hard sell when an average new small Australian car costs about $26,000, or $44,000 for an average new sedan or SUV.

Everyone likes a new set of wheels but not all can afford one, or are willing to part with a good chunk of coin to get one, especially with prices rising for just about everything. It's no wonder EVs currently make up less than 4 per cent of new cars sold.

Despite being cheaper to run because, well, they don't need petrol, and the added bonus that they can do zero to 100 faster than most V8s, the price tag puts EVs out of reach for most of us.

The obvious question is: what needs to happen to get more Aussies behind the wheel of a cheap, clean EV? The answer? Fuel efficiency standards. A dull name, but a big deal.

These standards are important because they put a handbrake on how much pollution a company's new cars can put out. If the company goes over, they get a fine.

No-one likes getting a fine. So these standards are a great motivator for car makers to shift their focus to more low and zero emissions vehicles.

In countries that already have fuel efficiency standards they've had the effect of dramatically increasing the supply of EVs while driving down their price.

The Australian government has thrown open the roller door on the idea of introducing fuel efficiency standards through consultation on a national electric vehicle strategy. For this strategy to be effective we need to make sure these standards are locally appropriate and properly designed to give Australian drivers more choice and affordability.

Firstly, our standards must be, at the very least, equivalent to those in other countries. Weak standards or those with too many loopholes won't serve the purpose of making EVs cheaper and more available.

Loopholes - like super credits that let manufacturers count zero-emission vehicles multiple times when calculating their fleet-wide emissions - run the risk of leaving Australia in the slow lane when manufacturers are making business decisions about where to direct their available supply of EVs.

The ultimate aim should be for 100 per cent of new vehicles sold in Australia to become zero emissions as soon as possible. The sooner we can free Australians from high and volatile prices at the petrol pump, the better off households struggling with the cost of living will be.

We're in a critical decade for action to cut our emissions by 2030 and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. A new vehicle sold today will generally remain in service for 10 to 15 years - and sometimes even longer. The transition path must travel in line with this - or faster.

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Finally, fuel efficiency standards should match up with Australia's local vehicle market and the needs of drivers. Besides the cars we use to get from point A to B, farmers, tradies, and others rely on hard-working vehicles to carry heavy loads or handle rough terrain.

Technology is improving quickly but there may be a case for putting vehicles, like utes, on a different trajectory to zero emissions than cars, recognising differences in what's available in the market right now.

However we do it, it's important that our local standards can be reviewed and updated every five years or so. That's how fast technology and markets are changing, and if we don't keep up we simply fall behind all over again.

With the transformation of Australia's energy system underway and accelerating rapidly, decarbonising transport is the next frontier in tackling harmful climate change.

The national electric vehicle strategy is a great opportunity to see Australia make rapid progress in this sector after a decade stuck on the starter's grid.

Strong fuel efficiency standards are the single best thing we can do to rev up Australia's EV market. They are the key to ensuring all Australians have the choice to buy a cheap, clean electric vehicle.